Linked
by Angelikah
Summary: She was honest with him. Now, she's in college building a life for herself. She has plans, and things that she wants, and none of them were supposed to involve him. Unfortunately, that all got blown to hell in a hand basket when Klaus came to Whitmore to tell her that she's his mate. God, she needs a drink. Klaroline. Mate-AU trope.
1. Together For Never

**A/N: Hey all :) Here I am with another story... Right before the start of the next semester... I'm kind of crazy, don't judge me.  
>Just as with Circuit Break, this fic won't have a set update schedule, but if the way I'm planning it currently stays the same, it'll be pretty short (the chapters will also be on the shorter side, sorry). I will never post something I don't intend to finish :)<br>This fic is the Caroline-Is-Klaus's-Mate story that I've been working on. It takes place about two months post-Klarosex, but anything post-Klarosex isn't canon (I don't know if that makes sense). Hopefully it'll become clearer as the story goes along :)  
>Thank you to wondygal &amp; justanotherfiveminutes for being fabulous betas :)<br>Enjoy!  
>-Angie<strong>

* * *

><p>She'd made a good decision with this one, she thought as her back arched slightly. The frat boy was handsome and blonde, well built, and apparently was <em>very <em>talented with his mouth.

There was no spark—there really never was with anyone anymore—but he made up for it with raw fucking talent.

And yes, she did mean that literally.

She'd broken up with Tyler weeks ago—after the whole Klaus fiasco—and she was honestly kind of relieved.

He hadn't been around and she was now single, which meant that she could do single-people things. Like getting her brains fucked out by a frat boy.

She knew that she wasn't ready for a relationship yet. She and Tyler had been together for a long time, but when frat-boy-that-could-do-that-thing-with-his-tongue-that-she-really-liked (note to self: teach that to future lovers)(second, less welcome, note to self: Klaus totally knew that tongue thing already, and she hypothetically wouldn't have to teach him anything)(third note to self: Stop thinking about Klaus) asked her out for lunch the next day, she smiled and accepted.

It was a little out of order, the fucking-then-dating thing, she means, but she needed a distraction, things had been pretty quiet since Katherine died, after all, and even though she knew it wouldn't go anywhere (because, as she previously mentioned, there was literally no spark at all), she was content to use him as hers.

XXX

"_Witch!" He yelled, barging into Priscilla's shop in downtown Nashville, "I have a favor I need to call in."_

_He heard a faint snort from the back room and some puttering around before an old woman poked her head out to look at him. "Of course you do," She mumbled._

"_I think that someone's put a curse on me."_

_"My condolences. Why are you here?"_

_He gave her a cold look. "I think it has something to do with the werewolf gene. I've read about similar curse symptoms in werewolf lore."_

_"All right. Tell me."_

_"I often feel as though someone is trying to very painfully rip out my intestines and then decides to stop after ten seconds or so. Have you heard of anything similar?"_

_He growled at the witch, who looked like she was trying not to laugh. "Oh, it's about time the great Niklaus Mikaelson discovered feelings," She said cheerfully, "Would you like some tea? I'll go put the kettle on."_

_Klaus sighed but followed her, knowing he wasn't going to get all that much information otherwise. Priscilla was…well, she wasn't exactly a friend, but she was about as close to that title as one could get. They had met over a hundred years before, and he was rather fond of her in the way that one might appreciate a goldfish that wouldn't have the decency to die after he got bored of it, but was occasionally useful as entertainment on a rainy day. He sat down at a rough wooden table covered with an absolutely revolting doily (Caroline would have had a heart attack just looking at it), and waited for the tea to be ready._

_When Priscilla set down a cup in front of him and sat across from him he immediately asked the question that had been burning in his mind as soon as she's spoken the words. "What do you mean I discovered feelings?"_

_Priscilla laughed. "What do you know about werewolves?"_

"_Just get on with it and stop asking questions."_

_She huffed before setting her cup on the table. "Quite a lot changes for werewolves after they trigger the gene. They become calmer in general, because they have somewhere to send the pent-up aggression, and they also tend to pick a mate almost immediately after their first transition."_

"_Yes, I know that much," And Caroline was his mate, he was sure of it, "But what does that have to do with the pain?"_

"_I'm not quite sure how to put this delicately," Priscilla said slowly, "But that's not a curse. It's an instinct that's telling you that your mate is being pleasured by another, which, in natural terms, would mean you aren't caring for them sufficiently in all ways." _

_He blinked and then suddenly felt rage boiling up into him._

"_Why didn't this happen before? I've known that Ca—who my mate is almost as soon as I saw her, but…She had a lover at the time, and it's not as though they didn't…"_

"_My guess is that you probably claimed her between then and now," Priscilla said._

_He knew that she was having a lot of trouble keeping her face straight, and Klaus snorted at her words._

"_I'd love to see anyone try to use the word 'claim' in relation to Caroline in front of her. It would probably be the last word they ever spoke." _

"_Well, luckily for you, that's your job."_

"_I'm not going to go all the way back to her after telling her I'd leave her alone until she decided to be with me and tell her that, are you insane? What am I supposed to say, exactly, _'_Hello, Caroline. I don't know if you were aware of this, but werewolves have mates, and you are mine, and I would now like you to accompany me back to New Orleans, far away from your friends, so that I may lock you in my bedroom and ravish you for as long as physically possible'_?"

_Priscilla was shaking with laughter, though she had the decency to not laugh at him out loud._

"_What?" He asked irritably._

"_Well, if you aren't going to go back to her, all you'll have to do is live with the knowledge that every time you have that feeling she's having sexual relations with another man. Doesn't sound so hard, right?"_

"_I've had to live with worse," Klaus mumbled, getting up to leave._

XXX

He threw a glass against the wall, and it shattered with a loud crack, tiny pieces falling all over the floor.

"What did that cup ever do to you?" Rebekah asked, poking her head in to investigate the noise.

"It wasn't the cup," He mumbled.

He felt that _twist _in his stomach. The same one that he'd described to Priscilla, and the same one he'd felt nineteen times so far (but who's counting?) since he'd left Caroline in Mystic Falls two months before.

It was an unpleasant feeling, like someone putting a hook in your abdomen and jerking it harshly, but the feeling always disappeared after a few moments. And then he would feel…oddly _empty_, that feeling where you know that you should feel _something _but all you can feel is the absence of feeling.

He wasn't sure that the explanation made any sense, but he wasn't sure how else to put it.

He also wasn't quite sure which feeling was worse, the pain or the emptiness, but he did know the cause.

Caroline Forbes was brought to orgasm by another man.

He felt oddly creepy whenever it happened, as though he were intruding on a private moment, which he was, really. He always had to remind himself that she didn't know, and that she wouldn't find out unless he screwed up his nerve to go all the way back to Virginia and tell her that every time she had sex with someone he felt it, and in order to prevent him from going mad could she please stop.

Although, he probably wouldn't put it that way, as it would just make her angry.

He also probably wouldn't be able to resist adding "and let me fuck you instead," which at this point in their relationship would be rather counter-productive.

He wanted nothing more than to tell her, though. This was the first time since he'd met her that he'd been away for a significant period of time, and he _needed _her. It was worse than before as well, because she'd finally given into him and then he'd had to leave because that was what she'd _wanted _and he couldn't exactly say no, could he? And now she's gone and he's stuck in New Orleans with only his sister for company who, despite being almost a thousand years old, still doesn't quite seem to have grasped the meaning of "leave me alone."

"Are you brooding about the baby vampire again, Nik?" Rebekah asked, sounding oddly sympathetic.

"No," He lied, sinking down on the couch and picking up his sketchbook from the side table, flipping through to a clean page and beginning to sketch.

She snorted, plopping down next to him and resting her feet on the coffee table. "Liar."

They didn't speak for awhile, the only sounds were Klaus's pencil scratching on paper, and the clicking of Rebekah's wine glass as she sipped from it and laid it back down on the coffee table.

He winced at another sudden jerk in his abdomen and decided that he wasn't about to sit here and let his mate have her way with anyone she liked. She was _his_, and she should understand that as soon as possible. He stood up, grabbing his coat.

"Where are you going?" Rebekah called after him.

"The airport," He said shortly, slamming the front door behind him.

XXX

So, anyway, here she was on the day after frat boy had left getting dressed and feeling slightly sorry for herself because she couldn't seem to_ connect_ with anyone. Jesse had been sweet, but she hadn't felt anything from him, really. She had definitely felt things for Tyler. She loved him (loved, past tense, she realized). And…Tyler was _Tyler_. He was safe and kind and loving and absolutely _hated _her now because she'd slept with Klaus.

Klaus who had _clearly _ruined her for anyone else (so far).

Yeah. So far. That was a good way of putting it. She would remain optimistic.

There had to be _someone_ better at having sex than him in the world, and she was going to find them.

Eventually.

Right now, though, she was digging through her closet. She decided against the floral babydoll dress when she realized that even though she wouldn't notice, it was probably cold and pulled on jeans and a top instead, grabbed a purse and made her way to the tiny café where she was supposed to meet him.

She saw him sitting at one of the outside tables and sat down at the other side, picking up a menu. They made semi-awkward small talk (how do you talk to someone who's name you didn't know until after you'd seen them naked without being at least semi-awkward?) while they waited for their food to come.

As they kept talking, the date got gradually more comfortable. He was funny and seemed to genuinely like her, and Caroline found that she actually genuinely liked him.

As a friend.

She was completely frustrated with herself. He was _totally _her type, and she just…couldn't make herself like him. He walked her back to her dorm, and she smiled, thanked him, and said that yes, she would enjoy going out again, and she had homework to do, but could he please give her a call?

She swiped her key card over the reader and entered the dorm, making her way to her room rather quickly. She unlocked the door and slipped in, shutting it behind her, turning around to find Klaus's nose about an inch away from hers.

She screeched in surprise and then pushed him away from her. "What the _hell_, Klaus?"

"I didn't mean to startle you," He said, which was about as close to an apology as she was likely to get.

"Why are you here? You were supposed to leave."

"I said I'd leave Mystic Falls," He said calmly, pulling out his phone, which had just vibrated, and fiddling around with it.

"But…Okay. Whatever. _Why_ are you here?"

"To take you back to New Orleans."

She felt a bizarre mixture of excitement, confusion, and indignance. What do you even _say_ to that?

She settled for an "Excuse me?" while inwardly panicking.

"I am here to take you back to New Orleans with me."

"No."

He nodded, as though expecting that response—which he probably had. "Well, the alternative is me staying here, so I assumed that you would rather come with me back to New Orleans."

"Okay. So clearly you don't understand the concept of 'leave and don't come back,' but, just to clarify, what it means is that you _leave and don't come back._"

"I need to be with you."

"Okay, so you're like, moving way into crazy-stalker territory. Like, more than you were before, I mean."

"It's not my fault that you're my mate."

"I'm sorry, I'm your _what_?"

She couldn't have heard him correctly. There was no way in hell that he'd actually said that. Were mates even, like, a _thing_?

"I said that you are my mate," Klaus repeated, not even bothering to look up from his cell phone.

She couldn't help it. She burst into giggles. "I'm sorry. Wait, what?"

He repeated his statement, and she shook her head. "That's ridiculous."

"No it's not," He said, suddenly sounding rather irritable.

"So assuming that this mate thing exists, you're telling me that there's some sort of higher cosmic power that determined that we were _meant to be_? Or something?"

He shrugged, still not looking at her.

"But you were born like, a thousand years ago! If your mate's determined when you're born, wouldn't your mate have died already?"

"Well, my assumption would be that because a mate is only chosen once the wolf side has been activated, and my wolf side was locked away before I had met an appropriate match, breaking my mother's curse allowed my mating instinct to emerge, and that instinct chose you," He said slowly, clearly having given this thought, "Of course," he continued, his voice taking a lighter tone, "Whoever is in charge of this whole destiny business could have just decided a thousand years ago that you were the one for me. I suppose we'll never know."

"This is bullshit."

"Beg pardon?"

"It's bullshit. I don't believe you."

"You don't…believe me?" Klaus asked slowly, looking at her for the first time during the conversation.

"I've never heard of this whole _mate _thing before, and—"

"Oh, yes, of course love, it's not as if you didn't practically _just _learn that werewolves existed at all."

"It's been like, two years!"

"Exactly."

She glared at him. "That's not the point. Wolves are mostly monogamous, but they don't mate for life."

He raised an eyebrow, apparently impressed, and tucked his phone into his jacket pocket. "Where did you learn that?"

"Discovery Channel."

And by that, she meant that as soon as she figured out that Tyler both was a werewolf and actually genuinely liked her, she looked up everything she could about wolves—both supernatural and otherwise.

Caroline Forbes was nothing if not thorough.

"Regardless, werewolves are not the same as regular wolves, love. They _do _mate for life."

"Well, since I'm not interested in being your mate, what happens now?"

Klaus smirked. "Considering the fact that the last time we spoke face-to-face we knocked down three trees and you walked home in almost nothing besides a sweatshirt and jeans, I'd say that you were _quite _interested."

"That was a one-time thing," She mumbled, her face heating up.

"If you say so," He said, inspecting his nails, "I'm sure that you will come to your senses soon enough."

"And what if I don't?" She asked again, her voice much more serious.

He shrugged. "I don't think anything particularly special happens. Apart from condemning both of us to eternal misery, of course," He said, looking up at her with big blue sad-eyes.

She directed her gaze towards the ceiling, hoping that she looked exasperated rather than like she was trying to avoid looking at him. She wasn't sure she was succeeding.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She felt him take a step closer, but didn't look at him. "Well," he began, his voice light, "I suppose when I first saw you, I just…_knew_. I felt this odd attraction to you. It was like nothing I had ever felt. After I clai—made love to you—"

She scoffed quietly, before inwardly freezing and narrowing her eyes.

Was he about to say _claimed_?

He continued, as though he hadn't noticed her discomfort, although she was sure that he had, "I felt…full. Sated. Content. I felt as though I had been starving for a thousand years but didn't know it until I ate," She made the mistake of looking down and somehow became attracted to his gaze, "I know you felt it too, Caroline."

She felt a slight tug in her abdomen, but wrinkled her nose to try to hide her reaction.

"So, how exactly does that condemn us both to eternal misery?" She asked, slightly proud that her voice didn't shake.

He gave her a tender look. "Because neither of us will ever be able to have the depth of feelings we have for each other. Any outside relationship we attempt—well, _you _attempt, as I do not intend to…ah…_cheat_ on you—will feel empty and incomplete. You will always feel that something's missing, and be unable to truly emotionally connect to anyone in a romantic way."

She felt her breath hitch, and immediately her mind wandered to the date she'd just had with frat boy, and further back to Tyler and Jesse. She realized why she barely felt anything at all after being with Klaus.

And now she knew why.

She knew that he hadn't seen it coming, and he grunted as her palm connected with his face.

"You ruin everything," She said, her voice deathly quiet.

"So I've been told," He said, pinching the bridge of his nose, the red mark already gone.

She couldn't love because of him.

She couldn't connect with anyone because of him.

It was his fault.

His. Fault.

"I hate you," She spat, her eyes filling with tears.

His eyes widened before he looked at her with such tender loving eyes that she almost wished he looked murderous.

"So I've been told," He said quietly.

The curtains rustled, and he was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading! Please review to let me know what you think (it's the only way I get your opinions on the stories I'm writing, so don't be shy). :)  
>Hugs!<br>-Angie**


	2. Inquiries

**A/N: So first of all, I am actually floored at the response that this fic has gotten. Thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites. Your kind words have motivated me to get this out faster than it would have gotten otherwise (because of all the other stuff I'm writing).  
>So, just to be clear, this is post-5x11 with weird canon. Katherine is still in Elena's body, and TO never happened. As far as this fic is concerned, Klaus &amp; Co. left the show and are doing mystery things in NOLA that no one knows about that don't include babies. :P<br>As I said in the first chapter, the chapters for this story will be shorter than my usual ones, averaging around 3,000 words each. This may change in the future.  
>Thank you so much to justanotherfiveminutes for beta work! I am excited to share this part of the story with you.<br>****Enjoy!  
>-Angie<strong>

* * *

><p>Caroline knocked firmly on the door to the shop she'd been directed to by Luke Parker (who she'd really had to grill for the information), and waited for the witch inside to answer it.<p>

There was a soft thunk of a cane on the floor and a few footsteps before the door opened to reveal a kind looking old woman, whose face dropped to a frown when she saw Caroline. "We're closed."

Caroline smiled at the witch cheerily. "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. I'm Caroline Forbes, and I was told you could help me with something?"

"I don't help vampires."

"Look, I don't need a spell. I just need some information on werewolves."

The witch cocked her head to the side. "Werewolves can be killed by-"

"No, no, I don't want to kill them. Can I please come in? I won't hurt you."

The witch gave her an assessing look before stepping aside, allowing Caroline to step into the shop. "I need to know about werewolf mating habits."

The witch raised an eyebrow.

"Look. It's a long story, but basically this guy that I know...He says I'm his mate, and I don't think I am, and I want to research it so I can go in with more information, you know?"

The witch remained silent but walked over to a bookshelf in the corner and pulled out a large grey leather-bound tome, holding it out to Caroline.

"This has what you need, though I request that you read it here. I do not like my books being taken out of the shop. I have never heard of such a thing as a werewolf mating with a vampire, but I suppose that there's a first time for everything."

"Thank you so much!" Caroline said, immediately plopping down on a nearby chair and opening the book, rifling through it trying to find a helpful section.

_If a werewolf triggers the curse, it is common for them to quickly become connected to someone, it takes some longer than others, most commonly another werewolf, though there have been recorded instances where a human without the gene has been chosen. _

_This connection between mates is called a "Link," and it is unbreakable from the moment it is made. _

Unbreakable? No, that couldn't be right. Magic always had a loophole. There had to be a way to break the bond.

_The Link manifests itself in various ways, and different pairs might have different experiences. There are only two traits that almost always appear in mating couples._

_When the werewolf's partner is distressed or in danger, they may feel an instinctive need to check on them. These instincts should not be ignored, because they are nearly always accurate._

_The other trait is the inability to develop deep emotional connections with potential partners other than the mate._

_Though the Link is unbreakable, when the mates first find each other, the connection between them is tenuous at best. Before the claiming, both parties are already affected by the traits of the Link, though those traits are a pale variant of what the mates feel after the claiming._

Caroline bit her lip. So, assuming that Klaus had been telling the truth and she was his mate, he hadn't been wrong about the difficulty with connecting to others, which was definitely a symptom she was feeling at the moment. She'd never had a feeling that Klaus was in danger, but then again Klaus was practically unkillable. She decided to keep reading.

_In addition, after the initial claiming both parties may experience overwhelming desire for their mate when in each other's physical presence until the bond can be properly managed. _

_Other side-effects may include a variety of things that indicate from one mate to the other that they are unhappy, whether with the relationship, their partner, or their sexual fulfillment. Some examples are projected emotions (one mate sharing a specific feeling with the other, such as sadness or anger), a painful tugging felt in the abdomen when your mate is sexually fulfilled by another, or a partner feeling agitated because the other is angry with them._

She snorted. A _painful tugging_ when someone else gave her an orgasm. God, that would be mortifying. She was glad that theirs didn't seem to have that, because she would have felt it if he had…

What if he hadn't?

What if he'd been painfully feeling her having sex with all of these frat boys and-ugh. Nope. Too creepy. Not going there.

She sighed, setting the book down and rubbing her palms over her eyes. "I think that's enough for now, but could I come back some other time if I have any more questions?" Caroline asked the witch tiredly.

"I don't see why not."

Caroline gave her a brilliant smile and thanked her before walking back to her car. She pulled out her phone to check for texts and made a face as she saw one from Klaus.

_Lunch at Jack's Burgers._

She snorted. It was so Klaus to order her to have lunch with him without even so much a please. Yeah, no.

_What's the magic word?_

She checked the rest of her texts while she pressed the unlock button on her car remote and slid into the driver's seat (Stefan had asked if she'd seen Elena-she hadn't-and her mom had reminded her that they'd planned to have dinner that weekend) and was about to pocket her phone when it buzzed again with a text back from Klaus.

_Noon._

Caroline rolled her eyes. _Wrong answer. _

She sighed and put the key into the ignition, twisting around to pull out and slamming on the breaks when Klaus appeared right behind her car.

She sighed and started to back up again.

What was the point of his immortality if she couldn't hit him with her damn car?

He reached out and put his hand on the bumper, stopping it from moving, and she glared at him. He didn't seem to be moving away, so she stopped the car and put it on park, getting out to walk up to him. "What?"

"We're going to lunch."

She glared at him. "No, we're not. You can if you want, but I have a microbiology test to study for."

"Don't you have questions?" He asked.

"About…?"

"Oh, come now, Caroline. I know exactly what you were doing in that witch's shop, and I believe that I can answer your questions better than almost anyone."

"If you tell the truth," Caroline mumbled.

He raised an eyebrow, and she sighed. "What...characteristics, or whatever, does our mate bond have? Assuming that we are mates, I mean."

"We are. And I have discovered very few so far, but one of the most common traits is being sensitive to your mate's emotions, and I knew you were in an absolutely foul mood last night after I left, which is why I wanted to make it up to you with lunch."

"No."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself, love."

He didn't move, and she crossed her arms and glared at him. "I need to leave."

He met her stare with a heated one of his own, and she felt a small shock run through her. She felt like every time they made eye contact, she couldn't bring herself to look away. Her mouth went dry.

"So leave."

"You're in my way," She said, fighting not to rasp the words.

He smirked, and she wondered why he looked so calm when she felt like her whole body was on fire.

"Aren't I always?"

"Yes."

He smiled, and she wanted that smile brushing up against every bit of her body. She wanted his lips to touch her neck, to feel the fangs hidden underneath them elongate and bite her, _mark _her, and-"What are you doing to me?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, love," He said, his lips curled into that infuriating smirk.

"Of course you do," She said angrily, her skin prickling with a need to be close to him, to _feel _every centimeter of him against her naked body, to wrap her legs around him and- "You're making me feel… feel-"

"Aroused?" He asked, looking more amused than anything, "I'm not _making _you feel anything Caroline. You are attracted to me and your body is reacting," He said, as though he were speaking to a child.

"Stop being so condescending," She snapped, trying to calm the flush overtaking her body.

He moved closer in response, and she longed to lean towards him, but she restrained herself, gritting her teeth and taking a step back, closing her eyes briefly when the back of her knees hit the back bumper of her car. She was trapped.

"I'm simply telling you the side-effects of the bond," He said, moving even closer to her.

She could easily side step him and leave, but she felt as if her feet were rooted to the concrete, unable to move, and she kept herself leaning back away from him, knowing that if she gave in for even a second she wouldn't be able to let go.

"Why are you so _calm_, then? Is it just me?" She asked, her voice sharp, abandoning the prospect of denying this stupid...bond...thing..._Link_...in favor of needing to know why she was so much more affected by it than him.

He stopped in front of her, his body centimeters away from hers, his mouth bent near her ear. "You think that I'm not?" He asked, his hot breath on her ear making her twitch, a stab of arousal hitting her at just his proximity to her, "You think that I haven't wanted to bend you over and fuck you against the car from the second I saw you? That I didn't want to take you against the door last night in your room until you could barely walk, vampire abilities or not? That it's not taking every single bit of self control I have not to grab you, wrap your legs around my waist, and make you scream in front of everyone in this parking lot?"

She let out a small, breathy moan, wondering how he managed to have this much of an effect on her, how he wasn't even _touching _her and she already wanted to do every single one of those things, and perhaps one or two more…

"This is just as trying for me as it is for you, _my_ _love_."

There was something about the way he emphasized his last words that made her breath shudder, and when he pulled away, his lips twisted into an evil smirk, and she came back to herself, she suddenly felt fury at his actions build within her at an alarming rate.

"Stop _doing _that," She said, her voice shrill and angry, "Stop making the Link...making me-"

"Stop making you want me? Now why would I want to do that? It might make me stop having to feel it every time you allow someone else into your bed."

"_What?_"

"Every time another person gives you pleasure, I _feel _it, and all I want to do is take you against the nearest surface-flat or not-and show you what a huge mistake you're making. No one else will ever be able to make you feel the way _I _can. No one else will be able to satisfy you the way _I _will. You are _my _mate, and every time that I feel you being pleasured by another, I feel the need to claim you again to show you who's name you should be screaming. _Mine_."

His eyes were darkened with lust, his voice rough and needy, and she felt an insistent ache between her thighs at his possessive words, the thought flitting through her mind that she might (would) feel the same way if the roles were reversed, if she knew that he was screwing some other woman.

He was _hers_.

She restrained the moan that had been about to escape her, and instead pulled herself away from him and stalked back to the driver's seat of her car, sliding in and starting the ignition. If he didn't move, she was going to run him over, whether it wrecked her car or not. When she turned around to pull out, he was gone, and she sighed.

This Link thing was ridiculous. They needed to find a way to break the bond, and quickly, or she would be stuck wanting to fuck Klaus every second of the day until they'd learned to "properly manage" the bond.

Not that there weren't worse things, really. No. No, Klaus was a terrible person, and she couldn't give in. She would just have to resist the impulse to go to him, and find a way to break the bond, and everything would go back to normal.

God, she needed a drink.

**XXX**

"We're over," Katherine said abruptly to Damon, trying to insert as much sweetness into her voice as possible.

"Very funny, Elena."

Katherine pursed her lips. "Damon, I can't take it anymore. The killing...The darkness...I love you, but I don't know if I can handle this."

Damon stiffened, looking up at her, and Katherine smirked inwardly. She was almost done with everything on her mental list of things she needed to do to sever ties with everyone in Mystic Falls and go off on her own.

The change had been gradual. After she'd found out Caroline slept with Klaus-questionable taste in men, to be sure, but incredibly convenient for Katherine-she'd been able to successfully divert most of the attention from her to Caroline. Now, some months later, she'd been systematically breaking off most things keeping her tied to Mystic Falls, while still keeping the connections that might prove valuable later (Caroline, Stefan, and Bonnie being most of them). You never knew when a witch would be handy, and Caroline had the potential to be able to keep Klaus away from her.

And Stefan? Well, that was more sentimental than anything else.

"You're serious?"

Katherine nodded slowly, faking a small tremor.

Damon's eyes clouded over, and his face was harsh and still. "Fine. Leave."

She let her eyes fill with tears and sped out of the front door of the house before allowing herself a small smile.

**XXX**

Klaus stalked into his hotel room a mile away from Caroline's dormitory, having ran there within minutes, and slammed the door shut behind him, leaning against it and running a hand through his hair. That could have gone better.

He cursed his werewolf senses for what felt like the hundredth time since she'd gotten out of her car, her eyes bright with anger and her curls rustling slightly in the breeze with her arms over her chest, and as soon as he'd met her eyes he could smell the beginnings of her arousal.

He had to admit to himself that part of the reason that he'd cornered her against her car, careful not to touch her, was so that he could inhale the scent of her, which grew with every second. He had decided before he'd arrived at Whitmore that the first time he took her she would have to initiate. He wanted her to have to admit to herself that she wanted him before he claimed her again, and if he made the first move, it might push her back rather than forward.

He had seen the desire for him in her eyes though, and thought that it was only a matter of time, even though his instincts had been burning inside him, insisting that his mate was wet and wanted him and _needed _him.

She was probably pulling up in front of her dorm, still rubbing her thighs together in the front seat trying to relieve the ache between them. He could almost still smell her, and he was hard, his cock straining against the front of his jeans, and he didn't think he'd ever wanted anything more in his life than how much he wanted Caroline Forbes with her legs spread wide, screaming his name as he pounded into her, and _fuck_ he needed a cold shower or a strong drink or _something. _

He decided on the shower, and let his thoughts wander as he stepped under the spray. Caroline had not yet truly accepted the fact that she was his mate, and he doubted she would for awhile. Even so, once she had, she would tell her little friends, and they would want to kill him (because that seemed to be her friends' answer to everything. When in doubt, attempt to kill him).

Unfortunately, if they did, they would be condemning her to an eternity of misery, which he hoped that she would explain to them enough that they would decide not to.

Wishful thinking, he knew.

In addition, there was the matter of his enemies. Once Caroline had accepted the bond, she would obviously accompany him back to New Orleans. If anyone caught wind of Caroline's existence, there would almost immediately be attempts on her life, and she wasn't the type to sit around all day to avoid being kidnapped.

No, he needed to find a way to protect her.

Unfortunately, short of locking her in a padded room for the rest of her life (unthinkable) or guarding her every second of the day (which she would never allow), there wasn't much he could do unless she could protect herself on her own.

She was only two in vampire years, which meant that she had almost no hope of being able to fight off anyone over the age of twenty without the element of surprise or superior weapons. They would have to find a way to make her stronger. He could teach her to fight, but even then she would still be vulnerable to weapons, and it wasn't as though she could be made impervious to stakes through the heart.

Or could she?

His mother had created the spell to turn humans to Original vampires. What if they could modify the spell to work for vampires?

The consequence would be that such a spell would then exist, which would be dangerous for the whole supernatural population, unless he managed to keep it a closely guarded secret. The witch would have to be trustworthy.

He ran through the names of various witches that he knew, landing on Priscilla as the most likely to be able to help, having the needed background information already, and an astonishing sense of self-preservation, meaning that she wouldn't tell anyone that it happened if she wanted her head attached to her body.

They would first have to locate the spell, which meant that he either had to find a grimmoire copy of it (unlikely to exist) or have Priscilla contact Alaric Saltzman from the Other Side.

He would call her later that day, and get to work. It was settled, at least in his mind. As soon as Caroline accepted the bond and took her rightful place beside him, he would turn her into an Original.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading! Thoughts on their Link? Klaus's solution? What's Katherine up to? Let me know what you think! The only way I get to be a better writer is through feedback. :)  
>Hugs!<br>-Angie**


	3. Brunch

**A/N: Still floored by the response. Haha. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I hope you enjoy this ;)  
><strong>**Thank you to justanotherfiveminutes for beta work :)  
>Edit: I took out a line because I completely forgot about a time line event. So, just a reminder for this story going forward (and it's totally my fault that it became confusing), Katherine is still in Elena's body, and no one knows.<br>****Thank you Bex for (probably accidentally) motivating me to finish writing this chapter. :P**  
><strong>Enjoy!<strong>  
><strong>-Angie<strong>

* * *

><p>"I need to talk to you guys," Caroline said frantically, bursting into Elena's dorm room.<p>

Though both of the other girls didn't really attend college anymore (having been too late to register, and there were some things that even compulsion couldn't fix), they had compelled the housing office for three singles side-by-side, and for the RA to ignore the fact that there were two residents that didn't technically attend the school.

"What's up?" Bonnie asked, looking up from the book she was reading on Elena's bed.

"It's Klaus," Caroline said, sinking down into the beanbag chair in the corner.

Elena's head snapped up from what she'd been looking at on her laptop and she closed it and turned to Caroline. "What about Klaus?"

"He thinks...Well, I mean, I guess it's true. We're-we're _mates_," she said, whispering the last word as though it was a filthy secret that she couldn't even bear to admit out loud.

"Mates?" Bonnie asked incredulously.

"Yeah. You know, werewolf mates."

"Can you break the bond?" Bonnie asked immediately.

"According to this witch I talked to, it's unbreakable, but every spell has a loophole, and...I just need to break it."

"Is the mating bond even a spell?" Elena asked, frowning.

Caroline deflated. What if the bond _was_ unbreakable? What if she was stuck with Klaus forever?

No.

She was Caroline motherfucking Forbes, and she would break this stupid bond if it was the last thing she did.

She just needed more information.

"I don't think so, but I can ask Klaus about it. Maybe the information he'll give me will give us a hint."

"What's the mating bond like, anyway?" Elena asked, cocking her head to the side.

Caroline bit her lip, debating the pros and cons of telling her friends. They both knew that she'd had sex with Klaus in the woods (courtesy of Elena), but she wasn't sure how well they'd react to it.

"Well," she began slowly, "Apparently there are different forms the link can take. So like, there are side effects."

"What kinds of side effects?" Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We can feel each other's feelings sometimes."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was really angry, he said he felt it. And last night I felt this weird sadness, but there wasn't a reason for me to be sad, you know? And he can feel it when I have sex with someone, apparently. And he's so..._possessive._ And I am too, and it scares the crap out of me," she said, her words slowly speeding up as she talked.

"He can feel it when you have sex with someone?" Bonnie asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, that's kind of invasive."

Caroline shrugged helplessly. "I've never felt it. I don't know, he could be lying."

"Or he could be celibate," Elena said, grinning.

"I find that hard to believe."

"Why?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"Because...Well...He's evil, but I have _eyes_, okay?"

Elena laughed. "Yeah, okay, but he still really likes you. If he still wants you after you guys screwed in the woods…"

Caroline frowned in surprise. Elena was being surprisingly nonchalant about this whole thing. Something felt off.

It wasn't the first time she'd had a weird gut feeling about Elena, but she just sort of wrote it off to feeling upset about her break-up with Damon. Caroline was honestly over the moon that her friend had finally broken up with that asshole, but she knew better than to say anything.

"Elena, shut up," Bonnie said irritably, before turning back to Caroline. "Is there anything else?"

Caroline bit her lip. "Well...He came to Whitmore to see me. You know, to tell me all of this stuff. And whenever I'm near him, I feel this weird pull."

"So you want to fuck his brains out," Elena said, smirking.

Caroline huffed. "Look, we just need to fix this as soon as possible, okay?"

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but why?" Elena asked. "I mean, I know you said that he feels it whenever you have sex with someone else, but it sounds like a good deal to me. The most powerful person on earth loves you unconditionally, you'll never have a boring sex life, from what it sounds like...Besides the fact that he's evil, I see no repercussions to this."

"Yeah, exactly, Elena. He's _evil_."

"Plus, he said something to me about not being able to connect with other people, and I think he's right. Jesse and Tyler both didn't feel like romantic attachments. I haven't had a real crush on anyone since that day in the woods," Caroline admitted.

_What if I break the bond and I still can't feel anything for anyone? _

"Look, find out more information about the bond, and we'll try to figure out how to break it without any repercussions, okay?" Bonnie said soothingly, getting up to put a hand on Caroline's shoulder.

"Okay," Caroline agreed. "I have class today, so I'll call him tomorrow."

**XXX**

Klaus heard the opening notes to the ringtone he'd picked for when Caroline called and immediately rolled over and picked up the phone. "Morning, Sweetheart," he greeted, inwardly patting himself on the back at the gravelly morning voice.

"Klaus," she said, though he grinned at the fact that her voice had a breathy quality. "I want to talk to you. About this link thing."

"Of course, Love. Anytime. I'm staying at the–"

"Not at your hotel room," she said immediately, and he smirked.

_Worried you won't be able to keep your hands to yourself then, Love?_

"All right. Where, then?"

"Take me out for brunch."

"Where?"

"Cassie's Diner. It's on the corner of Elm and–"

"I know where it is. I'll be there in half an hour."

"Okay," she said, before abruptly hanging up on him.

He smirked to himself.

He took a shower and dressed, trying to figure out the best way to handle the inevitable stream of questions. He suspected that she wanted to break the bond, and though he knew that it was unbreakable, he wanted to show her that she wouldn't want to.

He decided that honesty was the best policy. If she couldn't break the bond anyway, there was no point to holding back information. He wanted Caroline to be happy with him, and Caroline seemed to be fond of honesty.

When he arrived at the small diner, he saw Caroline in a booth towards the back and immediately started over to her.

"Good morning," he said again, gesturing to a nearby waitress for coffee and picking up a menu.

She was staring down at her menu, clearly determined not to meet his eyes. "Do you know what you want, love?" he asked, keeping his voice low and gravelly.

He saw her twitch slightly, and he smirked to himself. Watching her react to him was going to be the best part of his morning.

"Yes, I think so."

He waved over the waitress, a plan forming in his mind, and gave the girl a dimpled smile.

"Good morning, my name is Sasha and I'll be taking care of you this morning. What can I get you?" the waitress asked, apparently determined to be casual.

He let his voice drop an octave to one that he knew for a fact made women fall over themselves to help him. "Good morning, Sasha," he said, grinning as Caroline stiffened across from him. "I'd like the blueberry pancakes."

"Of course. Um, anything to drink with that besides coffee?"

"Just water's fine, love. Thank you."

Caroline's eyes snapped up to glare at him. He smirked at her, knowing that his behavior was ringing all of her possessive alarm bells, and that she was just itching to stake her claim. Knowing his Caroline, she would do everything in her power to stay casual. To not let the bond win.

He was determined to change that.

"I'd like the buttermilk waffles, please," she said politely.

"Anything else?"

"No, thanks," Caroline answered with a tight smile, handing the waitress her menu.

He gave the girl his as well, though he made sure his hand brushed hers, watching Caroline's reaction through the corner of his eye.

Her eyes were closed, and she appeared to be doing the deep breathing exercises commonly taught to new vampires by their sires-if they bothered to stick around long enough to help the fledgling through the transition-and smirked to himself.

The fact that her control was that shaky was a good sign.

"So," she started, her voice casual, "Can you tell me more about the side effects of the link?"

"You'll have to be more specific love," he said, waiting patiently for her eyes to flicker to his.

She licked her lips unconsciously, and he felt his cock twitch at dart of her tongue running over her lips. "What side effects do you know for sure that we have?"

"I only know the ones that I've experienced, but as far as I know, we have the emotional link, the instinctive possessiveness, being alerted by a sharp pain if you are pleasured by another, and arousal when in close proximity," he listed.

He let his voice wrap silkily around the words, allowing them to drip with innuendo and keep them from being the least bit clinical. Her breath hitched, and she stared determinedly at her iced tea. He could smell the arousal pooling in her core, and he briefly inhaled, closing his eyes while he did so, knowing that she'd hear it.

"Okay."

He saw her jaw set, and she looked up, her eyes narrowed, pulling the iced tea towards her and wrapping her lips around the straw, making eye contact with him, her eyes dark. The message was clear: Two can play this game.

She pinched the middle of it lightly between two fingers, her lips bobbing up and down on the straw as she sucked the iced tea through it, licking her lips lightly when she withdrew. He couldn't help but lick his lips as he watched her, and if he hadn't had supernatural hearing he wouldn't have heard the breathy moan that escaped her lips as she pushed the glass away from her to make room for their food.

She smiled and thanked the waitress politely, Klaus doing the same, although he added a slight roughness to it, and he could faintly hear the rough fabric of Caroline's jeans brush against itself as she rubbed her thighs together.

She poured a pool of syrup on her plate and held her silverware delicately in her hands, carefully cutting her waffles into neat sections and spearing a piece with her fork, dragging it through the syrup until it was dripping and bringing it up to her mouth, catching a few drops on her tongue to prevent the syrup from dripping, before putting the piece of food in her mouth, pulling the fork out slowly.

Klaus's eyes were glued to her lips, and his cock was now straining against the front of his pants uncomfortably. He shifted, trying to give himself some relief, but Caroline seemed to have noticed because she took another piece and let a drop of syrup fall onto the creamy skin of her cleavage visible through the top of her blouse. She put the fork back on her plate and caught the bead of syrup with a finger, bringing it up to her mouth and sucking the syrup off her finger tip.

He groaned audibly, and when she removed her finger from her mouth and grabbed a napkin, he let his eyes close for a fraction of a second. She dipped her napkin in her water glass and dabbed at her cleavage with it, cleaning it of the sticky substance, leaving a trail of water slick against her breast, catching the light.

Her eyes were still fixed on his face, her lips parted slightly, and her tongue darted across them to lick up excess liquid.

He could smell how wet she was simply from trying to seduce him, and he had never been so turned on in his life. "Caroline…" he whispered, a warning tone prevalent in his voice.

"Niklaus," she whispered back, her eyes teasing, and he growled at her, knowing his eyes were flashing yellow.

She clearly thought that she had the upper hand, and he couldn't have that. There were certainly times when he let her take charge, where he let her lead, but this was _not _one of those times. She was challenging him, and he had to make her submit.

"Don't test me, Caroline."

She took a sip of her iced tea, not answering him with anything but the curve of her lips as she sucked the liquid through the straw, draining the glass completely.

He leaned forward over the booth so that they were close together, and from the hitch of her breath he knew that she felt his proximity to her. "Do you like putting on your little show for me, Love?"

Her tongue darted out to lick her lips again, though he suspected that it was more of an unconscious movement that a provocative one. "Do you like knowing that I'm hard for you under the table in a room full of people? That I can smell how wet you are for me between your legs?" he whispered roughly.

She panted slightly, her eyes dark with lust. "You know how much I want you, Caroline, and you're trying to take advantage of it. So know this, my love, my _mate_, I would like nothing more than to take you from behind on this table, your face pressed into the surface while I pull your hair and pleasure you between your legs, to hear your muffled screams as I slam my cock into you, and I make you come around it over and over until your juices are dripping down your thighs. I want to claim you in front of all these people and make you shout my name for the world to hear so that they know you're _mine_."

She moaned loudly enough at his words that a man at a nearby table sent them a confused look before turning back to his meal, and Klaus smirked at her.

"But I won't," he continued.

Her breath hitched, and gave him a strange look that was a combination of relief, arousal, and...disappointment? He grinned widely at her. "I won't, because the next time I fuck you, you will come to me. You will spread your legs for me and beg for my cock in you, for me to make you _scream_. I want you to accept your place by my side as my mate, to crave it. I want you to submit to me, Caroline."

He could see her chest rise and fall with her shallow breaths, the scent of her soaking pussy wafting up to his nose, and he inhaled it, licking his lips. He took a deep breath and let it out, pulling out his wallet. "Did I satisfy your curiosity, my love?" he asked at a normal volume, his grin wicked.

She glared at him. "I'll never submit," she said quietly, her eyes burning into his.

He let his lips curl up to give her a dimpled grin. "We shall see, won't we?"

He put a fifty on the table, not bothering to calculate how much the brunch would actually cost, and prepared to get up to leave, pausing before he did so, knowing that he'd have to speed out to make sure no one got a glimpse of the straining bulge in his jeans. "And do keep calling me by my full name, Caroline. I love the way it sounds coming from your pretty lips."

He left before she could answer.

**XXX**

She felt her cheeks flush as she sat in her car outside the diner, trying to calm herself. She should have known better than to try to bait him. Her pussy was aching and wet and _empty _and there was a huge part of her that would like nothing more than to speed after Klaus and insist that he take her. Hard.

But she wouldn't. She was determined, if not to break the bond, then at least to not give into him. She started the ignition and pulled out of the parking space, making her way back to the dorm. Once she'd gotten to her room, she locked the door and wriggled out of her jeans, throwing her blouse and bra into the hamper in the corner, and flopped back on the bed. She slid her thong down her legs and immediately began circling her clit with her finger, trying to find some sort of relief, before pausing.

Could Klaus tell when she pleasured herself? Or just when she had sex with other people? She bit her lip, rubbing her thighs together to try and relieve the ache in her dripping pussy while she thought about it. Sure, he could have remained celibate, but there was no way he could have gone without touching himself, especially since the time in the parking lot. And anyway, she'd done it when she got home since then, and he hadn't mentioned anything. Considering that he hadn't exactly been shy earlier about saying what he wanted to do to her, she suspected that she was safe.

She spread her legs and continued to rub her clit, fingerfucking herself with the other hand and whining slightly when she couldn't get deep enough, before turning over onto her knees, fucking herself deeply with her fingers. She moaned into her pillow, grinding herself against her fingers, letting her fantasies overtake her.

In her mind, Klaus was behind her, the heat of his naked body pressing against her own, his cock slamming into her, his balls slapping against her as he fucked her hard. He was muttering the filthiest things to her, telling her how good she felt and how much he wanted her...She bit her lip, drawing blood, feeling herself getting closer to the edge until she tipped over it, screaming Klaus's name into her pillow, thankful that it muffled her voice so well.

She pulled her fingers away, slick with her own juices, and let them rest on her blankets while she caught her breath. She knew she should feel guilty for fantasizing about Klaus, but she justified it to herself.

If thinking about him got her off, that's what got her off, and it's not like anyone would ever know unless she told them. Her mind was a private place. She rolled over onto her side, letting herself come down from her high completely before she grabbed her chemistry textbook for a bit of studying.

She took a well-deserved study break an hour or so later, and when she looked up again, the sky was dark. She yawned, stretching, and started binge-watching a new television series that Bonnie had recommended, falling asleep a few episodes in.

_The vervain burned her wrists and mouth as she found herself tied to a chair in a classroom at the school, Evil-Alaric looming in front of her. She felt the tears pricking her eyes, and was only half aware of what Evil-Alaric was saying, the words seeming to fall out in blurry slow-motion._

_She was terrified, her undead heart beating quickly in panic, and she screamed, though it was muffled by the vervain soaked cloth in her mouth, and–_

She was shaken awake, thrashing around at the sudden contact, though the person that had woken her managed to hold her down. "Caroline? Sweetheart, open your eyes. It's me. It's just me, you're safe."

"What the hell, Klaus? Why are you here?"

"You were having a nightmare."

"What? Are you spying on me in my sleep now?"

How long had he been there? Had he seen her touch herself earlier? When she screamed his name?  
>"No, actually you called me," he said irritably.<p>

"What are you talking about?"

"I was painting in my studio, and I got a rush of blurry images of Alaric Saltzman, along with a foreign feeling of terror. I assumed that you had been kidnapped, but I decided to check here first, as that seemed suspiciously like a memory, and you were having a nightmare, so I woke you."

"You were watching my dreams?"  
>"Not on purpose. I suspect that you were frightened, and so you instinctually reached out to me."<p>

"Is this normal? It didn't say that this could happen in the book…"

"Well, I've never seen a reference to it, but if I had to guess, it would be that we are both vampires, and as vampires have the ability to enter other people's dreams–"

"We can communicate through dreams," Caroline finished, starting to panic. "I don't want you in my head."

"If it's any consolation, I didn't exactly mean to enter it."

She glared at him, and he shrugged.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes. You can go now," she said.

Now that her panic was winding down she was _very _aware that he was shirtless in her bedroom at night, and she was only wearing a large t-shirt and lacy boy shorts. She felt her face start to flush.

"Leave."

A smirk stretched across his face. "Are you sure you want me to go?"

"Yes."

"Suit yourself," he said, turning to leave. "Good night, my love."

"_Leave_," she said, trying to fight down her smile at his attempts to be charming.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading! Leave me a review so I know how you feel about it. The only way I get better is through feedback :)  
>Hugs!<br>-Angie**


	4. Trust Me

**A/N: It's still Friday for me, and since Friday is an update day for a fic, here's an update for a fic ;)  
>Thank you so much for the follows, favorites, and reviews! I'm so glad you guys like this story.<br>Thank you to justanotherfiveminutes and CKhybrid for beta work.  
><strong>**Enjoy!  
><strong>**-Angie**

* * *

><p>"I don't know what to <em>do, <em>Elena," Caroline groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Katherine considered her options. She could tell the blonde to go for it, but that seemed strangely out of character for Saint Elena.

Then again, she couldn't pretend to be Elena for the rest of her life, or she might go batshit.

Well, more batshit than she already was.

She was very self-aware, thank you very much.

She had to make sure that it was both completely impossible to return Elena Gilbert back to her body (which she was 99% sure was already done), and also ensure that Caroline cared about her enough to not let Klaus kill her when the time came to come clean.

"Make a list."

Caroline gave her an odd look, and Katherine just gave her what she hoped was a cheery smile. "Make a pros and cons list, Caroline."

"Why did I not think of that?"

"Probably because you're afraid that the pros will outweigh the cons," Katherine said dryly.

Caroline tilted her head, giving her an assessing look.

"What?"

Caroline shrugged. "Nothing. Don't worry about it. Do you have a pencil?"

Within twenty minutes, Caroline had made an extensive list of pros and cons while Katherine watched over her shoulder and occasionally contributed points.

The end result was a long list of very small pros and three very important cons (_he is not afraid to kill people I care about_, _he has done terrible things_, and_ my mother hates him_).

"He makes you happy," Katherine said, trying to sound resigned and like she was playing devil's advocate rather than impatient for Caroline to get the fuck on with it and put the guy out of his misery so she could _go the fuck to New Orleans_.

God, she missed Elijah.

"Look, I don't need anybody to make me happy, okay Elena?"

"Yeah, not any _body_, except Klaus's," Katherine said, resisting the urge to give Caroline a wink and a smirk, and instead settling for a giggle.

"Since when are you Team Klaus?"

"Since I realized that you sacrificed a huge amount of your personal comfort when I dated Damon, and I should do the same for you. Even though Damon and I didn't work out, you were there for me, and you wanted me to be happy, and I should do the same for you," Katherine said, pasting a sickly sweet Elena-smile on her face.

And it was true, too. If Katherine had the motivation (and enough fucks to give), the pros-cons list_ she_ could make for being Saint Elena's friend would make anyone come to their senses and ditch the bitch.

Well, except Damon, but really he'd just been looking for a replacement for her the entire time. Sadly for Damon, no one does Katherine Pierce like Katherine Pierce.

* * *

><p>"Here he is," Rebekah announced, dropping Kol's body rather unceremoniously on the ground in the middle of the pentagram. "Get to it."<p>

"We need blood," the head of the coven said shortly, and Rebekah rolled her eyes, slashing her own wrist and letting the blood drip onto Kol's body.

She stared at the coven leader expectantly, who immediately began to chant, her coven members following her.

Rebekah watched in morbid fascination as the ash marks of her brother's grey skin faded into his natural creamy hue. There were whole chunks of his body that regrew before her eyes, and she almost felt herself choke up as the chanting of the witches faded, and Kol's eyes flew open, red, bloody, and _hungry_.

Rebekah immediately thrust a blood bag at him, which he sneered at before grabbing the nearest witch and draining them dry within seconds. Once the surrounding witches had realized what happened, Kol and Rebekah were screaming on their knees.

However, what Rebekah knew and the witches did not, was that Kol had one of the most absurdly high pain tolerances of anyone she'd ever met.

And she was an Original.

Aneurysm spells by definition disabled vampires. The blood vessels repaired themselves even as they were damaged, leading to unbearable pain that never ended, even causing the vampire to get weaker over time. If the witch was strong enough, they could easily desiccate a vampire by forcing them to use all their energy to heal themselves. However, though the spell was unbelievably painful, it wasn't disabling if you could stand it.

She saw her brother breathe deeply before pushing off the ground, snapping three necks and draining the last witch of the five, throwing her to the ground in disgust and wiping his lip with the back of his hand.

"Took you long enough."

Rebekah didn't make a habit of crying.

Sure, she shed tears every so often when something didn't go her way. She threw tantrums or she got her feelings hurt, and tears fell (and hearts left chests).

She'd originally thought Kol had been lost forever. She'd locked herself in her room for three days straight after staging a pointless fight with Klaus (not that she had fooled anyone) just lying in the dark mourning her brother. She'd stayed up at night sometimes talking to him, hoping he was watching her from the other side.

Klaus had always been her favorite brother. He had taken the time to indulge her silly girlish fantasies as a child while making it clear that that's what they were. He drew her pictures and protected her from the 'big bad' boys of the village. He'd made her feel safe.

Kol, on the other hand, had played with her, made her laugh, and practiced magic with her. He'd supported her through the hard times. He'd left them to go out on his own, it was true, but he always returned to them. To her.

Yes, Klaus was her favorite brother, but Kol was her best friend.

She was in his arms within moments in an uncharacteristic show of weakness, tears falling, blubbering out sounds that weren't close to any language she knew, and he just held her.

And she could have sworn that he shed a tear or two as well.

* * *

><p>"Witch!"<p>

He heard Priscilla's faint sigh of irritation from the next room as she hobbled in. "Can I help you?"

"I want to know if it's possible to turn a vampire into an Original. Actually, I just want you to do it. I don't particularly care whether you think it's possible or not."

"For your mate?" Priscilla asked.

"Obviously."

She pressed her lips together. "Well, what were the components of the original spell?"

Klaus gave her a pointed look. "You are sworn to secrecy, of course."

"Obviously."

"The blood of the doppelganger was required and made into an elixir. As I have managed to gather, there were two other ingredients, which determine the loopholes of the spell. One was the ground ash of the anchor, which in this case was the white oak tree. The spell was also bound to the tree, although I suspect very strongly that the tree was just a convenient natural anchor, rather than having a larger significance. The other was vervain powder. The amount of the elixir does not matter as long as the proportions stay equal in that each of the three ingredient portions must have exactly the same weight."

Priscilla nodded once, a serious look on her face. "And are there any other parameters?"

"Yes. It must be done during a solar eclipse. I checked before I arrived. The next one is on May 20th, and rather conveniently can be seen from Virginia. We need to be ready by then."

"So, if I understand correctly, the only things that are even close to complicated are finding the blood of the doppelganger and deriving a new incantation for the spell, as the old one most certainly will not work on vampires."

"Yes."

"What do you know about doppelgangers?" Priscilla asked.

"Almost all there is to know, I believe. After all, I did look for them for over a thousand years. Though it is a common myth that doppelgangers descend from a family line, therefore implying that if a doppelganger does not have children there will be none left, the truth is that doppelgangers may appear at any time in any place, and are always born shortly after the last doppelganger dies. I would wager that there is already a year-old doppelganger baby growing up somewhere."

Priscilla nodded. "Excellent. So then you know what you must do."

He resisted the urge to groan. This "find the doppelganger" bullshit would never leave him alone, would it?

* * *

><p>"Nik!"<p>

Klaus's head snapped up at the familiar voice, and he turned to see his little brother enter the room. "Kol," he greeted, trying to keep his voice neutral, but not succeeding.

Rebekah had called him earlier that week and told him that Kol had returned, and Klaus had even spoken to him briefly, reassuring him in as few words as possible how happy he was to have his brother back.

He and Kol didn't often get along, but as Elijah and Rebekah often said, it was because they were more similar than different. When Kol had died, each of them had dealt with it in their own way. Rebekah had staged that ridiculous fight with him, and he and Elijah had heard her sobbing for hours in her room, both wanting to help but too drained themselves to bother. Elijah had thrown himself into organizational tasks. Klaus honestly dreaded the day that his brother and Caroline were stressed at the same time, because there would be a war of epic proportions about the best way to clean everything. Honestly, he'd bet on Caroline.

And it wasn't even because he was biased, which he'd freely admit he was. Caroline was simply a force of nature.

He had been devastated when Kol had died.

"Are the rumors true?"

"What rumors?" Klaus asked slowly, knowing very well exactly what Kol was talking about.

"That tasty little blonde from the bar. Is she really your...ahh..._mate_."

Klaus honestly didn't see much point in lying.

"Yes."

"Excellent. When do I get to meet her?"

"You've met her."

"Yes. Before she decided that she'd give you a chance. Before she said she'd rather die of thirst, remember?"

Yes, he remembered that moment very well.

"She didn't decide to give me a chance," Klaus pointed out, rather reluctantly.

"Well, she also said that she was too smart to be seduced by you, and look how that turned out," Kol said cheerfully.

He didn't bother asking how Kol knew that. Eavesdropping was a favorite pastime of his brother's.

He made a low humming sound before changing the subject. "Kol, I have a request."

"What else is new, Brother?"

"I understand that we haven't exactly got on well in the past–" Kol snorted, but Klaus continued as though he hadn't heard, "-But I was hoping I could ask for your help."

"With what?" Kol asked warily.

"I have some things to take care of–"

"Oh no, Nik. If you're going to ask me for my help, I'd like to know the full extent."

Klaus regarded his brother with serious eyes. "All right. I need you to understand how absolutely serious I am about this, Kol. Family, always and forever, right?"

Kol nodded.

"Caroline is a part of this family."

Kol gave him a look not unlike the one Elijah gave to suspicious looking stains on couches in hotels.

"Go on."

"I have plans to create a spell to change her into an Original vampire, so that she can't be killed," Klaus said slowly.

"Which means that you need to acquire doppelganger blood, which means you need to _find _the doppelganger, and I'm assuming that you don't want to bring your girl along because that would mean showing her off to lots of people that could kill her pre-ritual."

Klaus had to hand it to his brother; he'd always been intelligent. Although, this particular situation most likely had more to do with Kol's witch background than anything.

"So, let me guess," Kol continued. "You'd like me to locate the doppelganger and bring her back."

"No, actually," Klaus said slowly, mindful of the fact that Kol now looked twice as dubious of Klaus's motives as he had before. "Have you ever thought of going to college, Kol?"

"No. Absolutely not," Kol said immediately. "I am _not _going to escort your girlfriend everywhere like a bodyguard."

"Kol, if you want to earn my trust–"

"If _I _want to earn _your _trust? Really, Nik? If anything, you should be trying to earn mine. You have done nothing but berate me, isolate me, and dagger me for _centuries_. Why on earth should I want to help you?"

"Because you're family and she's family."

"Not enough," Kol said plainly.

"And because she's best friends with the Bennett witch."

He was almost certain he'd never seen such a bizarre mix of anger and resignedness. "Fine. I'll protect your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend, she's my–"

"Mate. Whatever," Kol said irritably. "Tell me you're not expecting me to go with her everywhere?"

"No. But you'll live with her in the apartment. Perhaps you'd like to study something. Might I suggest musical theatre?"

"You're hilarious, Nik. Really."

"I think you'll find that it's right up your alley."

"You've already signed me up haven't you."

Klaus gave his brother his version of a helpless shrug, which probably would have looked genuine had it not been for the shit-eating grin he knew was stretched across his face.

"Joy," Kol muttered.

* * *

><p>"<em>-A silver ribbon on the waves...leading directly to me and you...nothing is too wonderful to be true,<em>" Caroline finished, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet as she smiled at the director.

"We'll email you if you got a call back. I highly suggest that in the meantime you learn the songs for the part you're auditioning for. Thanks for coming," he said shortly, making her frown slightly.

"Thanks."

She jumped about a foot in the air when she found Klaus lurking in the hallway, and felt the familiar tug of arousal in her lower belly at his proximity. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to even her breathing, before she spoke. "Seriously, Klaus?"

"How did it go?"

"Pretty sure you heard the entire thing. Also, why are you here?"

"You were anxious."

"Yeah, because I was about to have an audition, which I'm sure you knew anyway because you're a creepy stalker."

He shrugged. "Actually I didn't. You asked me to leave you alone."

"And you listened?" she asked, completely floored.

"Well, it is my goal to keep you happy. You are unhappy when I attempt to control your life. Therefore, I am not attempting to control your life."

"Umm... Well, thanks then," she said awkwardly, now feeling oddly off-kilter.

"So? How did your audition go, love?"

She decided to humor him. "Well, I think. I nailed the high notes, and Bonnie said I wasn't pitchy when she helped me out with it last night."

"The Bennett witch sings?"

"Yeah. We went to musical theatre camp every summer together. She was my best friend. Before I turned, Elena didn't like me all that much."

"The doppelganger didn't go?"

Caroline snorted derisively. "No. That was the only thing I had on her growing up hands-down. I love Elena, really, I do, but that girl cannot carry a tune to save her life."

"I'm sure you had many things 'on' her growing up, love."

Caroline shrugged. "I don't think you would have liked me when I was human. I wasn't a very pleasant person."

"And yet, I am sure you were much more interesting and likeable than the doppelganger."

She snorted. "You should tell that to 99% of the residents of Mystic Falls."

"I don't have to. If they don't know that by now then they're not worth attempting to convert."

She felt a laugh bubble up in her. "If you say so."

"I do. Were you hoping to get a specific part?"

"Yeah, actually. I was really hoping to get–Hey. You're not allowed to compel me a part."

He put his hands up, palms out. "I didn't say I would."

She glared. "You were totally thinking about it."

He shrugged. "Of course I was. But if I did, you'd spend the entire time inwardly debating about whether you should have taken the part or not, and if you really deserved it. I think you would be happier knowing you got it fairly."

"You're really thinking these things through."

"Well, you like it when I–"

She suddenly felt a surge of anger. "Stop. Your world _doesn't _revolve around me and what I want. I don't want you to base every facet of your life around what I want. Is that what this stupid mate thing does? Do you _really _like me Klaus, or is it just this stupid link? Because honestly, it seems a bit like a sire bond, and that is the creepiest thing ever."

His face darkened slightly and he grabbed her hand, the skin to skin contact making her pussy ache in complete contrast to how absolutely _angry _she was feeling, pulling her to a nearby office and shutting the door behind them, locking it.

"I want you to listen to me very carefully, Caroline. This link is a two way street. You are _my _mate, but I am just as much yours. If I had a sire-like connection to you, you would have one to me as well. If the bond was forcing feelings on me that I didn't have, they would be forcing you."

"But what if they're forcing feelings in both of us?" she asked, trying to ignore the insistent tug of arousal every time he called her his mate. Hell, every time he spoke. His proximity was making her skin prickle.

"Are you saying you have feelings for me, Caroline?"

"Is that really what you got out of that? Of course I have feelings for you, you jackass. I told you that in the woods, remember?"

"Which was _before _I claimed you, and therefore before the bond really took hold," he pointed out.

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "Right. Okay. Fine. But I'm not...I'm not your fucking world Klaus. I can't be the center of your universe."

He shrugged. "Of course you're not. I would do almost anything to make you happy, because you are my mate, and I love you, but I do make my own choices, love. I have free will," he said, a bit too matter-of-factly for a love confession, in her opinion.

"Okay."

They were quiet for a moment, and she felt her body becoming more insistent the longer she sat there with him. "I need to go."

_Before I jump your bones._

"Wait, Caroline. I actually have to talk to you about something."

"What?" she asked irritably, her nipples brushing almost painfully against the rough fabric of her bra as she attempted to take deep, calming breaths.

"I'll be going on a bit of a trip for the next few weeks."

Caroline nearly sighed of relief. She would have a few weeks of not having to think about Klaus and his annoying arousing presence.

"For what?" she asked, curious.

"I have business to take care of."

She narrowed her eyes. "Isn't this supposed to be a partnership? Like, you know, where you tell me things? And trust me?"

He smiled, somewhat bitterly. "I love you very much, Caroline. More than you can even imagine, I'm sure. But nonetheless, no matter how much I love you, you still have proven time and again that I cannot trust you. Until that changes, I'm afraid that there are some things that I cannot tell you."

The door was open and he was gone before she could blink, and she had the strange urge to burst into tears, mostly because it was true. He loved her, and she had thrown it in his face multiple times, and _used _him for the benefit of her or her friends. Why should he trust her?

She didn't know what scared her more: the fact that she desperately wanted him to trust her, or that she already knew that she would trust him with anything.

Still trying not to sniffle, she grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder, walking back to her dorm room at Whitmore, nearly shrieking when she saw that it was practically empty with a large stack of cardboard boxes.

"What the–"

"Trust me, Darling, this is going to be about as much fun for me as it will be for you."

"_Kol?_"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, what do we think about Caroline's new roommate? How are we feeling about the development of Caroline and Klaus's relationship?  
>This fic will have a sub-plot revolving around Caroline's college experience. I'm a theatre person, and I thought it would be fun to explore the fact that the characters do, in fact, attend school :P<br>I also really wanted to acknowledge that Kat Graham is fabulous and should get to sing somewhere, haha. The song that Caroline auditioned with was "Nothing Is Too Wonderful to Be True" from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which is NOT the musical she'll be doing.  
>Hugs!<br>-Angie**


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